Thoughts on changing how recruitment and upgrading works.

[Adjacentred]

Just like how we have to buy armor and weapons for our player and companions, i feel like we should do the same for the units. wouldn't that also make the economy more interactive anyway? having armor and weapons production having more of an impact on factions and their economies. when we recruit units instead of them automatically getting out fitted for dirt cheap we should have to do the same when upgrading to horse units (needing horses) we should have to have the armor/weapons in inventory in order to upgrade them. Just my thoughts i hope devs are planning something similar. what do the rest of you think?

 

[R4MPZY]

Just like how we have to buy armor and weapons for our player and companions, i feel like we should do the same for the units. wouldn't that also make the economy more interactive anyway? having armor and weapons production having more of an impact on factions and their economies. when we recruit units instead of them automatically getting out fitted for dirt cheap we should have to do the same when upgrading to horse units (needing horses) we should have to have the armor/weapons in inventory in order to upgrade them. Just my thoughts i hope devs are planning something similar. what do the rest of you think?

Not an option the way economy is at the moment though, you can still get a decent income but if you need to spend money on weapons/armor/shields to be able to upgrade troops it may become too much.

Lords are already running around with recruit armies

When economy find some more solid ground this may be a fun subject to talk about imo

 

[Molay]

How about, to upgrade troops you need to be in a city. The upgrade essentially creates a job for the local workers, thus revenue. Maybe you'd have to pass some time in the settlement too.

If the city has a smithy/leatherworker it could reduce the time of the upgrade significantly. If not, we'll assume the "artisan" class is doing the needed upgrades.

Money for upgrades would thus flow into the economy rather than into the void.

Speaking of which, I would encourage much increased upgrade costs (not increased upkeep though), to give the upgrading process more meaning and satisfaction from having an elite force. Ultimately it could help to set apart wealthy nobles with easier access to high tier expensive troops from less wealthy characters that wouldn't be able to reliably afford the highest tiers (t2 50g, t3 100g, t4 300g, t5 600g etc - I.e. t3 easily accessible, t4 and beyond a luxury). Just to put some more emphasis on the economy side of things (currently the endgame is pretty much exclusively warfare; it could be so much more. The economy model has lots of potential).

 

[Adjacentred]

Yea that would work my main point to it all is so its not so easy to build up an army as well as the economy side. As of now after a few trading runs and farming of looters it doesn't take long for a decent army i feel like some kind of system for realism so it slows down the game. I would also recommend increasing daily costs for higher tier troops. it would be fun too to be able to sell 200 weapons and shields to a faction leader so they can build their army.

 

[Molay]

I mean we could take it a step further; upgrade costs could fluctuate depending on:
- whether a city has a smith, leatherworker
- the price of ore and wood in the city
- the "availability" of labor. I.e. if there's a lot of upgrades going on in this city (high demand) cost goes up. Vice versa reduced cost if few upgrades are requested (simulate idle workers eager to get some money).
- your reputation with the local shop owners (or flat rebate if own shop, while reducing the revenue of your shop for a while)
- your trade skill (negotiating item price)